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HomeMy WebLinkAbout221012 WSMINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 October 12, 2022 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Matt Keating, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Randy Groves, and Emily Semple Councilors Absent: Alan Zelenka, Greg Evans Mayor Vinis opened the October 12, 2022, work session of the Eugene City Council in a hybrid format at 101 W 10 th Avenue, Eugene OR 97401. 1. WORK SESSION: Sister Cities Review Discussion City Manager, Sarah Medary introduced Policy Analyst and Sister Cities Program Manager, Jason Dedrick who presented information on the Sister Cities program. Council Discussion: • • • • • • Mayor Vinis -noted appreciation for the citizen volunteers that have kept the sister city connections going during COVID; recognized the strong relationships with Nepalese and Japanese communities because of the program. Councilor Semple -noted that the program benefits to the City; believes the program needs more attention; stated she would like to see it expanded; noted a desire to refocus on the program with the pandemic coming to an end. Councilor Yeh -noted that the program should be re-assessed to determine City goals; noted that the program needs more focus and support; asked how funding is dispersed, and if the programs are required to outline their intention for the funds prior to disbursement; asked if staff verifies intention and use of funding; asked if there is staff capacity to properly support this program. Councilor Groves -noted that a strength of the program is relationship building between peoples, not governments; stated that he would like to see re-engagement with Irkutsk in the future; would be in favor of a more structured program; stated that Ukraine would be a good option to consider; noted the importance of providing information to the public on why this program is worth continuing to fund when there are still unresolved funding issues for assisting the unhoused community. Councilor Keating -reflected on the advantages of the strong sister city relationship held in his hometown; would be in favor of developing a sister city relationship with a community south of the border; noted the Ethiopian delegates who came for Oregon '22 expressed a desire to develop a sister city relationship with Eugene; would also like to explore a sister city relationship with Ukraine. Councilor Clark -asked about economic development aspects to the program through the Chamber of Commerce or other agencies; stated the potential for economic development as a reason for the program to move forward; noted he would like to see MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session October 12, 2022 Page 1 the program expand to China; noted the community benefits from continued or expanded development. • Mayor Vinis -asked staff to elaborate on sister city engagement during Oregon '22; noted the requests for heightened visibility such as a signpost with mileage to the sister cities; requested Council reach out to her if they are willing to volunteer additional time toward sister cities relationships; noted that the last delegation was in 2018; asked staff to explain how delegation funding is handled; stated her interest in having a more robust and formal welcome response. • Councilor Keating -stated an interest in signposts as well as planting trees that are native to the City's sister cities at the Riverfront Plaza. • Councilor Groves -likes the idea of signposts with information about and mileage to sister cities at Riverfront Park; noted he was impressed with the delegation visitors from Kakegawa to Eugene Springfield Fire and noted the importance of learning from one another; expressed the importance of public communication about the program and why it is being funded. • Councilor Clark -noted that delegation trips used to be funded annually or bi-annually by the City until budget cuts made it a personal cost to Council; noted that sending delegations would make the program more robust; asked staff about the location of sister city gifts; noted a preference to display those gifts more prominently. • Councilor Yeh -stated that being able to express why the program is important to the public is critical; noted that the each sister city relationship does not have to have the same structure; recognized that evaluating and creating a strong program will take additional staff or Council time; noted that the City should concentrate on building the relationships that exist instead of creating additional sister city relationships; noted a concern that the programs are handled by private non-profit agencies; stated support for having sister city art and gifts on display in a public building. • Councilor Keating -noted that he looks forward to having the art and gifts pulled out of archives and placed on display. • Mayor Vinis -stated that she would welcome Council involvement in sharing the role of hosting delegates when they visit; stated it may be possible to partner with surrounding cities when delegates visit. 2. WORK SESSION: 2021 State Legislative Changes to the Offense of Interfering with a Police Officer City Manager, Sarah Medary introduced City Prosecutor, Travis Smith who presented information regarding legislative changes to the offense of interfering with a police officer. Council Discussion: • Councilor Groves -asked if the decline in staffing at the Lane County District Attorney has an impact on this issue; asked if this change would also apply to interfering with firefighters or paramedics; noted he would like staff to look into expanding this provision to include interference with firefighters and paramedics. • Councilor Clark -asked about the ability of communities to create ordinances around crimes or violations not addressed by statute; asked how staff determined the proposed change is the right course of action; asked if the City has the authority to take this action; asked about the consequences of disagreeing with the legislature and keeping this part of a police officer's job. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session October 12, 2022 Page 2 ■ Councilor Groves -provided the ORS reference that makes interference with a firefighter or emergency medical service provider a misdemeanor; asked staff to look at incorporating ORS 162.257 into the changes. ■ Councilor Semple -stated that it makes sense to align with the legislature on this matter. • Councilor Keating -explained that prior to the legislative reform, if someone was recording an incident and was given a lawful order from a peace officer to stop, they could be violating a lawful order; asked staff if this type of activity has been prosecuted; asked staff if they have seen records expunged, sentence decreased, or other retroactive change post legislative reform. MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Keating, seconded by Councilor Groves, moved to direct the City Manager to prepare an ordinance amending EC 4.907 consistent with HB 3164 and schedule a public hearing. PASSED: 5:0 Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Katie LaSala City Recorder (Recorded by Sara McKinney) Web cast of meeting available here. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session October 12, 2022 Page 3